A body recovered in the Atlantic Ocean off Manasquan Inlet this morning has been identified as a Florida real estate broker missing since he went kayaking off Point Pleasant Beach Tuesday night.

An autopsy conducted this afternoon found the cause of Frank D'Alessandro's death was asyphxia due to drowning and the manner was accidental, Ocean County Prosecutor Marlene Lynch Ford said in a statement released tonight.

U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer Nyx Cangemi said the body was spotted by the crew of a fishing boat at 9:30 a.m. about one and half miles northeast of Manasquan Inlet. It was recovered by the Coast Guard a short time later.

D'Alessandro, 52, was reported missing by his mother on Wednesday. He was on a two-week visit from Florida, where he is a well-known real estate broker who is facing multiple lawsuits accusing him of fraudulent real estate sales.

The Coast Guard had mounted a round-the-clock search for D'Alessandro by sea and air for more than two days after he was reported missing, but the search was suspended as darkness fell Friday night.

Todd Gates, D'Alessandro's partner at Gates, D'Alessandro and Woodyard in Fort Myers, Fla., said D'Alessandro's friends and business associates at the real estate firm, the largest and most well-known in the Fort Myers area, were reeling from news of the body's recovery.

"Obviously we're shocked, we're distraught," Gates said. "Frank was a huge leader in the real estate community, as well as the entire business community."

Gates said the recovery of D'Alessandro's body would put an end to the rumors reverberating throughout the Fort Myers business community that D'Alessandro may have faked his disappearance because of his legal troubles in Florida.

"We were all hoping for the best," he said, "but if it is indeed Frank, there is closure for Frank and there is closure for his reputation. There was so much speculation going around, it was destroying his reputation. Now there is closure for Frank, for his family and for the community."